Ranking the 5 Greatest Captains in Philadelphia Flyers History

Captains play a bigger role in hockey than they do in other team sports. The Philadelphia Flyers have had some great captains since they entered the league in 1967. This article will examine the five best captains in the franchise's history.

Captains are judged by the length of time during which they wore the "C" for the Flyers and how successful their leadership was during their tenure as captain. Leadership provided while not serving as captain of the Flyers or playing on another NHL team is not considered for purposes of this article.

In addition, team success while this player served as captain is also a factor.

As you will see, the Flyers have had some of the best leaders in the league.

Feel free to comment on any player on this list or any player you feel deserves to be on it but was omitted. As always, indicate why you feel the way you do.

Here are some honorable mentions in no particular order.

Veteran winger Lou Angotti served as the team's first captain. Angotti led the team in points and helped the Flyers to capture a division title in their first season. The Flyers won the division even after they had to play March home games on the road after the roof of the Spectrum collapsed on March 1, 1968.

Angotti failed to make the top five because he served as captain for just one season.

Defenseman Chris Pronger also provided excellent leadership for the Flyers and was a key reason for their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010. However, Pronger didn't wear the "C" until 2011-12 and then played in just 13 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Mel Bridgman was captain during the 1979-80 season, when the Flyers had a record-breaking 35-game unbeaten streak (25-0-10). The Flyers went to the Stanley Cup Final that year before falling to the New York Islanders. With that said, Bridgman only served as captain for two seasons.

Bill Barber was also a leader on the Flyers' back-to-back championship teams, but he only served as captain during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 campaigns.

Keith Primeau served as captain for three-plus seasons before injuries ended his career. The Flyers were successful under Primeau's leadership, but never reached the Stanley Cup Final. That left him just short of making this list.

When Ed Van Impe took over as Flyers captain in 1968, the Flyers were still an expansion team. By the time he handed the "C" to Bobby Clarke in 1973, Philadelphia had won its first playoff series and become a contending team.

Van Impe was a tough defenseman who led by example and dished out some punishing body checks.

In 1973, the Flyers finally won a playoff series, defeating the Minnesota North Stars in six games in the quarterfinal round before falling in five games to the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinals.

Van Impe continued to be a leader after Clarke took over as captain, playing a key role in the Flyers' two championship seasons in 1973-74 and 1974-75.

The Flyers made a lot of progress under Van Impe's leadership, which earns him a spot on this list.

The Flyers reached the playoffs in each of the three seasons during which Mike Richards served as captain. He took over the position at the start of the 2008-09 season and kept it through the end of 2010-11.

He performed well in his first year as captain, finishing second on the Flyers in scoring. He also led the league with seven short-handed goals.

The team struggled for much of 2009-10, but made the playoffs on the final game of the season. Richards then led the team on a magical playoff run that didn't end until the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Flyers in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.

The following season, the Flyers finished second in the Eastern Conference but lost to the Boston Bruins in the second round of the playoffs.

Richards had a successful tenure as Philadelphia's captain. He helped inspire his team to a long playoff run and played well while with the team. He has won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings since leaving the Flyers.

Eric Lindros enjoyed personal and team success while serving as captain of the Flyers from 1994-95 and 1999-2000. However, his clashes with general manager Bobby Clarke and members of the media cut his tenure short and kept him from being ranked higher on this list.

Lindros represented the Flyers in the NHL All-Star Game five times during his six seasons as captain. He also won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1994-95. That year, he led the Flyers to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

As the center of the "Legion of Doom" line, Lindros was a dominant performer when he was healthy. In 1995-96, he accumulated a career-best 47 goals and 115 points.

The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1997, Lindros' third season as captain, but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

Eventually, repeated injuries slowed Lindros down on the ice and his public feud with Clarke hurt his legacy as captain. Clarke questioned Lindros' toughness after some of the injuries he suffered while Lindros' family was highly critical of Clarke's treatment of his captain.

Dave Poulin spent six seasons as captain of the Flyers. Philadelphia qualified for the playoffs five times during that time and reached the Stanley Cup Final twice.

In 1985 and 1987, the Flyers battled the Edmonton Oilers for hockey's ultimate prize, but they fell short both times—including a dramatic seven-game series in 1987.

Poulin's toughness and ability to play through nagging injuries helped solidify his leadership credentials.

He was also a consistent player who played effectively in all three zones of the ice.

The Timmons, Ontario, native represented the Flyers in the 1986 and 1988 NHL All-Star Games and won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in 1987.

Poulin was inducted into the Flyers' Hall of Fame in 2004.

Bobby Clarke remains the only captain to lead the Flyers to a Stanley Cup championship. Philadelphia won titles in 1974 and 1975 and reached the Stanley Cup Final again in 1976 before losing to the Montreal Canadiens.

Clarke overcame diabetes, which scared off some teams and prevented him from being drafted in the first round of the 1969 NHL draft.

He took over as captain of the Flyers during the 1972-73 season and served until 1978-79. He wore the "C" again from 1982-83 to 1983-84.

Clarke scored the biggest goal in Flyers history in overtime of Game 2 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Final to even the series at 1-1. The goal gave the expansion Flyers the confidence they needed to beat the "Big Bad Bruins."

As captain, Clarke led by example. He was willing to do almost anything to help his team win, including slashing opponents and delivering questionable hits.

Clarke won three Hart Trophies as league MVP and one Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward during his tenure as Flyers captain.

When Clarke's number was retired in 1984, The New York Times' Lawrie Mifflin quoted coach Fred Shero as saying Clarke was "the greatest leader I've ever seen" while former general manager Keith Allen said Clarke was "the single most important thing that ever happened to the Flyers' organization."

Clarke is not only the greatest captain in Flyers history, he's one of the greatest leaders in the history of the NHL.